I haven't been on the forum lately... #1, haven't really had issues with the 4Runner, but #2 changed jobs (now 100% freelance) and busy as all hell.

Recently I paid the shop to toss a new tail pipe and muffler on it. She REALLY purrs. Sounds great, nice and quiet at freeway speed, which is where most of the road noise was coming from.

I recently ticked over 275,000 miles. Fantastic vehicle.

Great thread. Love the work you’re putting into this and
admire the determination on some of the more challenging
projects.
Someone early on in your thread mentioned the intrinsic value
of investing in these trucks, i.e., no car payment, responds to any TLC you give it, it’s a Toyota etc. and I couldn’t agree more.

Keep up the good work!

Finally got photographic evidence of a rare event: My HVAC lights were working for almost a half hour!

They have worked for about 35 minutes the entire nearly year I've owned this vehicle. They are usually off, and every now and then they will just.... go on, usually for a very short time, and with no rhyme or reason. It's happened twice now.



Anyone have any idea how this can happen SO intermittently?

Been a while since I've done anything on the 4Runner. This weekend I dropped her off at a fabricator/welder to shore up the remaining frame rust. Ordered a pint of POR-15 to seal the deal.

Also have a set of front shocks to install, and finally do the front sway bar bushings that have been in the garage since I got it.

Looking forward to a smooth, reduced clunk/noise ride!

Picked up my beast from the welder yesterday. $600 got every single rusted area of my frame cleaned, replaced, and bed-liner'd. I've got a date with a resperator and a pint of POR-15 which arrived via Amazon two days ago to paint as much of the frame as it'll cover.

Ride feels smoother than ever. No more concerning creaks and crunks while driving in the morning or at different acceleration levels with the 5spd. Even helped deaden a knock that i know is coming from a shot sway bar bushing, which will be replaced soon (as well as the front struts).

Tally ho!

Are you spraying the por15 or brushing it on? If you’re spraying go get one of those cheap harbor freight siphon feed guns. It makes it a whole lot easier and less messy.

I figured I'd brush. But if spraying it will be easy and cheap I don't see why I wouldn't pick that up. I anticipate doing it this upcoming weekend.

Spraying it is so much easier, like I don’t think I’ll brush that stuff on ever again easier. Go get the cheap siphon feed gun from harbor freight. You’ll need the reducer for por15(it’s specific to por15). I know chassis saver is reduced 8 to 1 for spraying but not sure on the ratio for por15. Spraying it just doesn’t make as big a mess. When I brushed it on it dripped everywhere. When I sprayed it I had no drips. You still need to wait at least 2 hours to apply the second coat. Then you just throw the spray gun away cuz once that stuff starts to cure there is no cleaning it.

Hey, what exactly did you replace to make it "ride like it's on rails"? I've done steering rack bushings, itre's and otre's, lbj's, sway bar bushings, sway bar links, and it's still all over the road on the highway.

To be honest, damned near everything.

I've shored up my frame completely, and replaced all of the following parts related to stability and steering:

Rear shocks
Rear sway bar links and bushings
Rear upper and lower control arms
Front sway bar links
Front upper and lower ball joints
Inner and outer tie rods (x2)

However....the thing that made the biggest difference... BY FAR... was tires. Get good tires. I had tires that were manufactured in 2010. They looked great, the tread was totally fine... but they were wobbly as hell. I got some Michelin Defenders, and on the drive home from Discount Tire I couldn't believe the difference it made, and that was after I'd already replaced all of the rear components.

Keep in mind that 'on rails' is very relative. I'm talking about having a feel for the road, driving at any speed and on any road condition feels safe and predictable. If you want to more literally be on rails, obviously you have to be in a low sports car not a wobbly-even-when-new tall SUV

Now all that said, when I got my most recent frame repairs done, there was a noticeable decrease in the slight wobble/swerve I would get while shifting gears (mine is a 5-speed), especially the freeway shift from 4th to 5th.

I know I stated earlier in the thread that the control arms were the reason it felt stable. It DID help, but nothing helped as much as new tires.

I've never understood why people do this. They drive around everyday with their plates showing but hide them online. What can someone do with a license plate number?

alright thanks. Unfortunately it's not my tires. They are 2016's with prob 90% tread left. I've replaced my ITRE's and OTRE's, LBJ's, front sway bar links (because i broke them offroading) and poly bushings, poly steering rack bushings. It's still all over the road. It will actually jump sideways if i hit a bump on the highway. I'm hoping it's the steering column slip joint issue but i'm starting to wonder if my steering rack is toast. maybe doing the rear end would help.

I'm not expecting it to handle like a track car. just for comparison, I have a 91 Ford E-350 4x4 with a 4" lift and 33's, with leaf springs. It handles road driving better than my 4runner does. A lot better.

Yeah I know what you mean. That's how mine handled. Now it feels like a normal vehicle.

I really don't feel like you've got a front-end issue. My gut is telling me your issue is coming from the rear end. Check to see if you get less bounce/sway if you lay off the gas pedal while swerving after hitting a bump at speed. If so, chances are you're experiencing the rear axle being too-willing to rotate a bit, essentially becoming a 4-wheel-steering vehicle until it stabilizes. Rear upper and lower control arm/bushings, springs, and rear shocks are the only things that would really have a major role in that stability, I doubt the rear sway bar could be the culprit but those links and bushings are pretty easy to replace as well. There's also a rear panhard bar, but that's the only thing I never touched on mine to get the rear under control.

Also check your frame for rust/rot/holes too. If your frame is weakened by rot, which many of ours that aren't in the southwest are, the truck will flex in ways it's not supposed to at speed. If it's got rot issues you have two choices: scrap the thing or do some frame repairs. I've opted to do the repairs. Thus far I've paid a welder/fabricator $750 to completely shore up the frame and fully replace rotted areas. It makes a BIG BIG difference, and it's kept me from having to scrap it, and given me half a prayer of ever being able to re-sell it down the road.

As always, good luck!

Latest surgery: Starter. Did it yesterday in aboooout 7 hours. That includes breaks, but man is that not fun to do by yourself. Really would help to have 4 hand and 4 eyes.

When all is said and done, knowing what I know now I could do it again in 90 minutes. Hopefully I'll never have to.

A helpful hint that no one brought up in tutorials or youtubes: You can get the old one out and the new one in from the bottom relatively easily.

The old and the new:


I know I have an oil leak from the valve cover gasket so I need to do that or I'll probably be doing the starter again much sooner than anticipated.

A final update to my journey: I sold my 4Runner last week to a good guy that was looking for a stick 4runner. My knee just won't let me drive stick daily anymore. Loved it while I had it.